Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The

This irresistible tale of the adventures of two friends growing up in frontier America is one of Mark Twain's most popular novels. The farcical, colorful, and poignant escapades of Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn brilliantly depict the humor and pathos of growing up on the geographic and cultural rim of nineteenth-century America. Originally intended for children, the book transcends genre in its magical depiction of innocence and possibility, and is now regarded as one of Twain's masterpieces.

Generations of readers have enjoyed the ingenuous triumphs and feckless mishaps of boyhood days on the Mississippi. This classic of American wit and storytelling introduced Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly with her Bible-based morality, the Widow Douglas, and many other characters to the world; including, of course, the boy who "was cordially hated and dreaded by all the mothers of the town, because he was idle and lawless and vulgar and bad — and because all their children admired him so," Huckleberry Finn.

The book is no saccharine tale of childhood; Tom and Huck also witness grave-robbing and murder one night at the graveyard where they've gone seeking adventure and a cure for warts. Twain's themes of adult hypocrisy and the importance of character remain resonant with today's readers.

Ages

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Interest Level

Grades 3 - 7

Grade Level Equivalent

5.9

Lexile Measure

950L

DRA

70

Guided Reading

Z

Publisher

Scholastic Inc.

Number of Pages

336

Genre

Adventure, Classics

About the Author

Mark TwainMark Twain was the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, born in Florida, Missouri on Nov. 30, 1835, died April. 21, 1910, who achieved worldwide fame during his lifetime as an author, lecturer, satirist, and humorist.